Cake experts - to spend £10 on a Thomas cake, or to make one for a fraction that might look a bit rubbish?

[bohemianbint]

I love baking, and the thought of spending £10 on a bloody sponge cake galls me, especially when I could probably make a nicer homemade cake for far, far less.

However, here's the thing. Am nearly 39 weeks pregnant and not exactly overflowing with energy. I could make any old cake, but I know DS, who will be 2 on Monday, would prefer a Thomas the Tank Engine cake, because I showed him a load the other day and that's the one he liked.

Could I make a Thomas cake myself? Cake bit, fine, decorating it, not so confident. Is it worth all the faff finding blue icing and attempting to create a Thomas face myself (art was never my strong point!) or should I just cut myself some slack, grit my teeth and buy it?

Fizzylemonade - nope, not on the potty yet, and fascinated as I might be to see blue poo you may have just talked me out of it!

Am going to aim to make some kind of really decadent yummy chocolate cake (as much for me as him! ) and chuck a train on it and call it a day, on Saturday afternoon. If anything baby related happens between now and then, I'll take that as a sign to buy. Can't say fairer than that eh?

Now. Has anyone got a really decadent chocolate cake recipe? Like a chocolate fudge cake or something along those lines?

Have just eaten curly wurly and realised that that is what you use for the side of a ship!!!

Match sticks for train track, am sure you can eat the broken bits when you have to snap them to make the sleepers!

Re the blue poo my friend had a thomas cake for her son's 2nd birthday, which the children ate with gusto, I was shocked at the amount of food colouring used to get that blue and the black.

The nappy was awful, for a split second I had forgotten about the cake the day before. It was bizarre.

Am watching this for decadent chocolate cake link I am coward and have only made chocolate fairy cakes, and normal sponge cake for birthday cakes.

I make all our birthday cakes .. have to be honest though I invariably spend close on the £10 in the end

Make cake. Add nasty cake topper from ebay, which has thomas on it, and says "Happy Birthday XXX". Works a treat every time.

Just use the white roll out icing. Mine are never perfect, but it means that they aren't filled with horrible blue and black icing (just the nasty e-numbers from the topper )

I would only make the Thomas one if you will enjoy making it. I reckon you would not save that much once you have brought all the ingredients anyway.